This story is sponsored by Discover Navajo.
As part of the larger Navajo Nation, the Utah portion of the Navajo Nation is in the Southeast part of Utah. It is remote and isolated retaining much of its traditional ways of life. Its landscape and topography contain some of the world s most beautiful, colorful rugged sandstone cliffs and towering rock formations.
The Navajo presence in the area goes back hundreds of years. Their history is intertwined with early Spanish and Mexican influences, providing rich stories and fascinating sites for exploration. The Navajo people and their ancestors the Anasazi ( ancient ones ) resided in the region and visitors find it an ideal location to retrace history and step back in time. The public can view the Anasazi through the striking images of the Butler Wash Petroglyph Panel, found along the San Juan River as it flows downstream.
2020-2021 has spawned a lot of new experiences for us all, one of which the simultaneous experience of wanderlust and hodophobia (yes, I just learned that word existed today). Luckily, road-tripping is the perfect antidote to that fear and longing for travel, since it allows you to mostly stay in your own space, but also get out of the four walls you’ve been staring at for nearly a year now. And particularly luckily for us Northern Coloradans, we have multiple out-of-state locations that are relatively close and well worth the drive.
So, if you’ve got a three-day weekend coming up and a hankering for travel, consider hitting up any of these adventurous spots to get away for a while.
Road trip loop: A unique Denver / Las Vegas itinerary 10Best 2/5/2021 Aimee Heckel, Special to USA TODAY 10Best
Note from 10Best: Check with individual businesses and attractions before going, because of sporadic closures due to COVID-19.
The road trip from Denver to Las Vegas is a classic road trip for Coloradans – a rite of passage, even. But a straight shot to Vegas isn’t the only way to do it. Find joy in the journey, when you turn the popular Mile High-to-Sin City drive into an adventurous loop.
On the way to Vegas, make a few fun stops at Breckenridge, Grand Junction and Cedar City. Then, after leaving the neon lights of Las Vegas, loop south so you can hit Lake Havasu, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, Telluride, Crested Butte and the Buena Vista hot springs, before returning back to Denver.